


Unnecessary Accompaniment

by kymchi



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Identity Issues, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25724095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kymchi/pseuds/kymchi
Summary: It has been weeks since Yu has left for the city, but Naoto develops some conflictions about his absence. When she begins to fall ill and lose sleep, Naoto is suddenly encountered by someone who she thought that she'd never have to face again.It's even worse when this someone brings a message that they would not want to have her forget.
Relationships: Kujikawa Rise & Shirogane Naoto, Narukami Yu/Shirogane Naoto, Shirogane Naoto/Tatsumi Kanji
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	1. A Shirogane Should...

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is a character study that has been in my mind ever since finishing Persona 4, and it turned into a concept that would not leave my head ever since. In addition, Yu and Naoto's relationship, while established in this work, will not be portrayed as a healthy one, so I sincerely apologize that I will be cluttering up that tag. 
> 
> I have spent a long time brainstorming and planning this concept out, so I hope that what I want to portray will successfully be presented in this. So, without further ado~

"Yo, Naoto, you okay?"

"Wh-huh?" Naoto snapped up and blinked her eyes blearily. The sun was extremely bright, and the sight almost blinded her. She honestly wanted to lay her head back down again, but instead, she struggled to focus on the figure in front of her.

Kanji huffed, "I said if you're okay. You've been spacing out all day, man. Ya get enough sleep?" The expression on his face was a look of pure concern, with furrowed eyebrows and a slight frown pulling at his lips, combined with the ever-present tint of red in his cheeks.

Ah, that's right. The former investigation team, save for Yu, who was now staying in the city, decided to spend a day together at Junes. And, wanting to spend some quality time with her friends, she felt like she had no other option but to agree to come. Naoto was put in charge of reserving a table for herself and her friends while they went to go get snacks, but she had ended up nodding off involuntarily. She slowly wiped her eyes before spying her beloved cap on the table next to her, to which she put back on promptly.

"I appreciate your concern, Kanji-kun, but I am quite alright. I am merely tired."

He raised his brow in disbelief, but instead of questioning her, he tsked before averting his gaze. "If you say so."

Naoto frowned. He had always seemed so distant when it came to her. She parted her lips in thought. Should she... try making some small talk?

"Kan-"

"Ah! Sorry!"

Their curt conversation abruptly ended with Rise almost crashing a tray of food onto the table. She recovered quickly and flourished a hand toward the tray in presentation.

"The snacks have arrived!"

Following right behind her were the rest of the team, who were all eager to sit down already. "The ice cream's mine!" Teddie yelled and practically pushed through everyone else before snatching up the pint on the tray and falling into a nearby chair next to Chie, who in question immediately grabbed the bag of beef jerky, while Yosuke settled on a bag of potato chips. 

In a matter of seconds accompanied with a few scattered shouts and the sound of chairs scooting against the ground, the team has banded together once again around the Junes table.

It was a beautiful day in Spring, and sparse clouds drifted across the sky in tufts. Naoto would have been enjoying the day along with all of her dear friends, but she couldn't help but feel an extremely heavy weight pulling down on her. She had only lied to Kanji out of kindness so he wouldn't worry over her, but in truth, Naoto wasn't able to fall sleep at all last night. She held up her chin with her palms, ruing her many lost hours of sleep.

"And so, I told my grandma about what happened, and she completely lost her mind!" Rise was gesticulating wildly and talking eagerly about something, but every word she spoke felt muffled to Naoto's ears.

"Oh, oh, Chie! Tell them about when you stayed over at the inn and you spilled all of the-" 

"Hey shush! They don't need to know that!"

Naoto felt extremely guilty. She had agreed to this event herself, and it was rare when everyone had time to spend time with eachother. She would feel awful if she were to leave. 

But, she contemplates as she looks over to Teddie not-so-subtly sneaking a bite of Yukiko's pocky, she would feel more of a burden to be miserable while her friends were having a good time. Plus, she was beginning to feel ill as well. It was due time for her to take her leave.

"I'm deeply sorry, everyone." Her friends quickly cast their attention to her in concern. "May we meet another time? I am not feeling well. Excuse me." 

She turned to leave when Rise suddenly caught her hand. "Woah- what's wrong?"

Teddie gaped, "Are you sick, Nao-chan?"

She was about to answer when Yosuke piped up with a, "Dude, you look like crap," only to be swiftly reprimanded by Chie ("Ow! What the hell was that for!?).

Yukiko pursed her lips, "You don't look like your usual self, Naoto-kun."

"I assure you, I'm alright-" She was beginning to feel overwhelmed.

Rise tightened her hold, "Do you need any help? I can-"

"Hey, lay off her." Rise furrowed her eyebrows, but reluctantly let go of Naoto when Kanji spoke up. "We can all hang out another time, yeah?"

Naoto could only give a stiff nod. "I'm sorry to impose this upon you all. You can- ah-" She pressed a hand to her head as a wave of dizziness suddenly washed over her, and she almost fell into the weight of Kanji, who stood up to catch her.

"Hey- Why didn't you say somethin' earlier?" Kanji raised his voice.

Naoto tried to regain her footing, and weakly pressed a hand against Kanji to stand up straight. "I said that I was alright. I'm just tired. I will let you all know when I am feeling better."

"Yeah, bullshit." Kanji set his jaw. "Looks like you're about to pass out any minute."

Kanji's words sparked a fire in Naoto's chest. "I told you, I am fine-!"

"Hey, guys, relax!" Rise parted the two of them. "Naoto-kun just needs some rest," she glanced over at her in question, "Don't you?"

"Ah-" Without so much as a word, Rise grabbed onto Naoto's hand.

"Here, I'll walk you home." She turned back to their friends, who all had some sort of a concerned expression on their faces and smiled, "We can hang out some other time."

Yukiko slightly frowned, "Take care, Naoto-kun."

"Don't burn yourself out!"

"See you later, Nao-chan..."

Naoto frowned as she saw Kanji's back turned toward her, and she could catch the glimpse of a scowl etched onto his face. She tucked her hat down in shame.

Well, this was clearly an unfortunate event. Honestly, Naoto just wanted to get home as quickly as possible, for both feeling ill and for wanting to get out of this humiliating situation.

As they walked out of earshot, Rise still held on tightly onto Naoto's hand, almost as if guiding her out of the store.

"Why'd you come?"

"Hm?"

"You shouldn't have come if you were sick. We'd understand, Naoto-kun."

Naoto hadn't looked up from the floor since the two had left. Damn, she felt like a child, being like this.

"I'd feel guilty." Rise only hummed.

______

To be honest, Naoto didn't remember much after that. The two had taken the bus to Naoto's apartment, and she all but collapsed into the couch after she lent the key to Rise. If she were even more honest, she didn't really give herself the time to take both of her shoes off. She sighed. The day's weight made itself apparent to her immediately. 

"Geez, that tired?"

"Yes," her reply came from the pillow.

"Here, let me get you a blanket and some medicine."

While Rise took quiet footsteps around the apartment, Naoto allowed her eyes a few moments of rest. Ah, mild waves of nausea gently washed over her. She pursed her lips tightly and willed herself to focus on the feeling of laying down, with the fan's comforting breezes gently brushing onto her along with the golden sunlight streaming down from the windows.

Eventually, as she felt sleep slowly pull her in, Naoto was left in a state of weightlessness. She had felt this experience this before, many times in the waking world. It brought a sense of calm with it, and she could feel the pressure of illness slowly seep away. She felt warm, safe. She had not felt this for a few weeks. 

But right now, it was the feeling of a big jacket being swept over her shoulders, and being pulled in under the arm of a loved one, feeling their warm body press against hers, and light lips pressing against the crown of her head. It was the feeling of being taken by the arm and being told-

"Hey, wake up."

Ah, huh?

"Naoto-kun."

When she finally decided to open her eyes, a very blurry Rise came into view, who smiled.

"Geez, I was scared I wouldn't be able to wake you up."

Naoto sat up. She had fallen asleep? But-

"Here, there's some pain pills and a thermometer for you, and... Oh- do you feel nauseous?" 

She shook her head.

"Okay, good." Rise scooted her way to sit on the sofa, looking after Naoto with concern as she took her temperature. No fever. 

"Hey, talk to me." 

"What is there to talk about?"

Rise groaned. "About why you're so tired. Come on, you look like you haven't slept at all these days. Your skin's pale and you have some serious dark circles, too." 

"Ah- I do?" Naoto touched the skin under her eyes in question.

She nodded, and scooted closer to Naoto. "Is it about senpai?"

Shocked, Naoto sat upright. How would she-?

"I mean, it makes sense." Rise reclined against the back of the sofa, "Sure it's been a while since he left but you ought to miss him. Y'know, since you're his girlfriend and all."

"Right." Naoto glanced down. "I do miss him. Very much so." 

"Hey, we all do." 

"But that isn't the problem. Recently..." Naoto trailed off, and looked at Rise with unease. "I request that you do not tell any of the others. Please let this stay between us." 

"I promise I won't," Rise emphasized her statement by making a serious gesture of zipping her lips.

"I've been... worried, about Yu-senpai. You see, we haven't been in touch for a while." She bit her lip, studying the fabric of the sofa. "He has said on multiple occasions that he'll be busy but... We've never gone this long without communicating. I'd text, or call, or email, but he hasn't been responding... I've been losing sleep over this, RIse-san. It has been many nights where it would keep me up."

When she finished, Naoto looked up to see Rise staring at her with a troubled gaze. She shook her head, slowly. "I'm sorry. I'm sure that he'll call soon? I haven't really been talking with him too much either but... If he doesn't contact you soon then try and see if Yosuke knows anything? They're best friends, after all."

Naoto nodded. "That makes sense."

"But seriously, losing sleep over this makes it sound so serious." She put a hand on her shoulder. "I don't want you hurt over something like this. You're strong, aren't you?"

Naoto clenched her jaw. Of course. She sounded pathetic like this. What kind of Shirogane would get paranoid over something like this? 

Her heart sank a little. This Shirogane. The one who would never be able to handle relationships normally. It would be best to try and straighten up immediately.

A ping alerted the two. Naoto's phone.

SC: hey! me n yukiko wanted to know if ur ok. we can all hang out another day, alright? hope u feel better soon!

After acknowledging Chie's kind message, Rise stood up with a pat on Naoto's shoulder. 

"For now, why don't you get back to your nap? I'll let the others know that you're feeling better, okay? Get some rest, Naoto-kun."

She gently closed the door, and Naoto couldn't help but grimace. It was very considerate of Rise to care for her like this, but a part of her felt embarrassed for needing to have been taken care of. However, with hopeful relief, she could feel her headache slowly dying down, and she sunk back into the sofa, partially burying herself under the blanket. 

However, she couldn't ignore the pain of her chest aching, like a weight was slowly crushing her. She was glad to at least find out that the pain had an easy solution. She sat up to take her binder off, and laid it on the arm of the sofa.

Feeling a small fraction of relief among her other aches, she turned to lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling through tired eyelids. She was exhausted but... She didn't exactly want to go back to sleep. 

Or rather, she was afraid to. 

Groaning, Naoto lifted her right arm, staring at the accessory on her wrist. The time spelled 7:00 p.m. in black outlines against a green background, accompanied with the same dreadful words directed at the bottom of the watch. 

Out of range.

What she would give to be close to him right now.

She let her arm fall across her eyes, and half-heartedly fought to stay awake, battling herself every time her eyelids threaten to close. However, she would not be able to stay victorious for long.

_____

When she regained consciousness, it was incredibly difficult for her to open her eyes. Or- were her eyes already open? 

The area surrounding her was covered in a veil of darkness, and it was completely indiscernible from the sensation of having her eyes closed. 

Other than that, it was extremely frigid, wherever she was. She felt goosebumps run across her arms, and her nose and ears stung under these conditions. 

Suddenly, alertness quickly creeped over her skin, and a sense of dread made her stomach sink.

Naoto felt entirely exposed.

After frantically running her hands over herself and only finding bare skin, she paled. It was still incredibly dark, but Naoto covered herself as best as she could with her hands. Not trusting the amount of open space, she attempted to maneuver herself to the nearest surface, but froze in fear when her eyes adjusted to reveal a darker figure slowly creeping toward her. She silently gasped, not daring to make a sound, when she walked backward into a wall.

The figure kept treading toward her, its hand outstretched in her direction. She felt helpless like this. No protection, no weapon. Her eyes shut closed in fear.

"You'll do this for me, won't you?"

Snapping up, Naoto's heart beat faster when the figure slowly revealed itself as... Yu-senpai. 

As much as she wanted to feel comforted by his presence, she couldn't tell if she should feel relieved. His voice... it was toned with malice. His hand was holding her arm, slowly pulling it toward him.

"I- Do what?" Helpless, unprotected. Fragile.

"Don't worry, you'll be safe with me." His face held a gentle smile. The kind of smile that would normally wear down her inhibitions but... His hand gripped her arm tighter and tighter with an increasing amount of force.

She should use self-defense. She knew self-defense.

"I don't-"

"Hey, you said you'd do it, didn't you?" His aggressive voice raised in volume as he tried to bring her arm closer to him.

Do something. Anything!

"No!" She tried to regain control of her arm, without having to hurt Yu, but he held her arm tighter, breaking through her skin. 

It hurts. 

"Do you have no respect for me? Is that it? I'm your boyfriend! Your leader! I help you and this is what I get in return?"

No, this was wrong. Naoto's heart leaped up into her throat. She tried to use Yu's own force against him, but to no avail. Wherever they were, Yu had the upper hand.

She was trapped, wasn't she? Between the wall and Yu, she couldn't go anywhere. She slumped to the floor, shaking her head repeatedly and unable to breathe. 

He only grinned. "Perfect."

_____

"Guh-!" Naoto awoke with a start, immediately sitting up and gasping deep breaths. Her arm ached. She palmed at her face with clammy hands, and the sudden heat made her dizzy. Oh god, she felt so nauseous. 

She hurried as quickly as she could to the bathroom, and leaned over the toilet seat, dreading the feeling of emptying her stomach. She gasped for breath when her body had finally ceased its heaving, and sat back on her knees.

That nightmare... Naoto shook her head, running a shaking hand through her hair. It simply wasn't possible. Dreams are just a random concoction of pictures and thoughts. Yu isn't the type of person to treat her like that. Not at all. 

She looked at her watch, which displayed the time: 3:00 a.m. Was she really asleep for that long? She practically wasted her entire evening. 

She groaned, knowing that she wasn't going to go back to sleep tonight. The lump in her throat was as present as ever, and she suppressed the need to cry. She held her watch tightly close to her chest, already feeling a calm sensation wash over her. 

She weakly stood up and subconsciously started to pace around the apartment, hoping that the action would help her anxiety. However, when she passed the full-length mirror on her way to her room, she was distracted by how much of a mess she looked. Her shirt was ridden up and the strap of her undershirt fell off of her shoulder. Her hair was mussed and greasy, and she looked extremely pale. She frowned at her herself. No matter how disturbing, a Shirogane shouldn't be so caught up with a silly matter such as nightmares.

Still... She looked back toward her phone. Perhaps it would ease her tension if she called. To hear his voice. To prove that he was different. However, it wasn't likely that he was awake at this time, and there was the issue of him not contacting her in days. 

Holding the phone up to her ear with shaky hands, Naoto listened to it ring with rising anxiousness. No answer.

She tried again.

No answer.

Sighing, Naoto slowly put the phone down. No, she was being a bother. Yu has said several times that he was busy in the city. Pestering him when he was most likely asleep would be very rude of her. Naoto swallowed. Her mouth was dry and tasted of bile. 

Perhaps a shower should do her some good.

______

Missed calls from Nao: (4)

______


	2. Creeping In

As she gently turned the shower handle downward and the steam from the hot shower sifted throughout the bathroom, Naoto thought that she would as least feel a bit calmer after her nightmare.

She was wrong.

Her skin still crawled, her heartbeat still beat faster than the usual pace, and her mind still swirled with conflicted thoughts.

Dreams very rarely have meaning... so why was Naoto so troubled? 

Shaking the thoughts away, Naoto toweled off her wet hair- perhaps she should cut is soon- and proceeded with her routine before school, which would be starting very early this morning. 

The sun had not yet peeked over the horizon yet, but she took this time to get prepared at her own pace. It was the usual routine: bind her chest, put her slacks and school blazer on, making sure every button is clasped and no wrinkle to be visible whatsoever, and confirm that her hair looked presentable before laying her cap atop it. 

However, as she grabbed her school uniform, something about the thought made her pause. She studied the piece of fabric in her hands- her binder. A memory came back to her. 

"When are you going to start looking like yourself?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

Yu looked so casual- sitting comfortably on the sofa, leaning his elbows over his knees, watching Naoto as she checked her appearance in the mirror. He was picking her up for a date that day.

"Well, you said it yourself. You said you wanted to look more like a girl, remember?"

"I suppose but... What brought this on?"

He shrugged, but his lips grew into a warm smile. "I was just wondering. You still look so stiff. It makes me a little worried about you."

A bit of warmth spread across Naoto's cheeks, but she shook her head. "I may be comfortable about wearing clothes like that around you but, not in any other situation."

He nodded, and took her hand as he led her out the door. 

"Maybe soon, then?"

"Yes."

Brought back to the present, Naoto pursed her lips into a thin line. How long was she going to be postponing everything? She did want to be appealing to Yu. This is fact. However... 

Maybe one little push. Perhaps just one day without binding her chest. He was away but... Would he be happy about that? 

She nodded. She was comfortable with that. 

She settled for a sports bra, and carried her routine as usual. 

When she finished getting dressed, Naoto stepped into the kitchen for a well-deserved breakfast. She noticed that the sky had just started to get lighter when her phone suddenly vibrated from the kitchen counter. Who in the world could that be? Especially so early?

A thought appeared. Could it be...? She hastily picked up the phone, her heart racing.

TK: Hey, it's Kanji  
TK: Just wanted to make sure you felt okay and stuff  
TK: If you need help with anything let me know

Huh? Naoto stared at the sender, feeling disappointed that it was not who she expected. Now that she thought about it, Kanji almost never texted her for anything. Was he so concerned to the point that he was willing to actually communicate to her, one-on-one? The thought made her want to smile but... He was quite angry at her yesterday, wasn't he? She pinched her eyes shut. Kanji deeply cares for his friends; she shouldn't have lied to him. 

SN: IM OK  
SN: TY

She wanted to say more, but she concluded that she could apologize to him at school today.

Feeling satisfied, she closed her phone and popped some bread into the toaster. A faint feeling of happiness washed over her as she realized she actually had time to eat before school. 

Although, she could still feel a twinge within her. Her nerves had not calmed down. Should she try talking to someone? 

She glanced at her phone again. Well, she did try.

DING!

The sound of the toaster brought her back to reality. What was she thinking? This was a simple nightmare. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. 

______

When she arrived at the school, she spotted two familiar figures waiting at the gate, talking animatedly about something. 

"Good morning, senpai."

Yukiko smiled. "Naoto-kun! I'm glad to see that you're feeling better."

"Man, Yukiko was pretty worried," Chie chuckled, "It was just unexpected from you. What happened, anyway?"

Naoto gave a little shrug, "I assume that my dizziness came from not getting enough sleep, as I've told you yesterday."

"We all know that you can be very busy Naoto-kun, but please don't work yourself too hard. We're free to listen if you have any trouble, okay?" Yukiko's words were gentle, but her eyes held a supportive gaze. 

"Yeah! I dunno how much help we'd be, but we're your friends! You can tell us if anything's bothering you." 

"Of course. Thank you very much, senpai." Giving her friends a wave goodbye, she entered the school, willing to get through the day without any struggle. 

Naoto had no problem with school. On most days, she enjoyed it. She was at the top of her class, with high praise from most of her teachers. However, she was beginning to second-guess this as she restlessly bounced her leg and listened to the clock tick on the wall. She couldn't focus, and the amount of static in her brain irritated her to no end. 

When the last bell finally rang, Naoto was itching to get away from the classroom. She was hastily packing her case when a voice approached her. 

"Naoto-kun! Are you feeling any better?"

"Ah, Rise-san. Yes, I suppose so. Thank you for taking me home yesterday."

"Whoa, what's the rush?" Naoto almost bee-lined for the door, but Rise stood in her path. "Where are you going?"

"Home? I'm sorry, but staying here for one more minute would make me lose my mind."

Rise relented with a smile. "You got that right." Her gaze drifted downwards, and looked back up to Naoto with widened eyes. "Hey, did you take off your-"

"Goodbye, Rise-san!"

Rise giggled, "Fine, just wanted to tell you that Yosuke-senpai's gonna be planning another hang-out soon, so keep your schedule free!" 

Naoto stiffly nodded, but Rise gently grabbed her hand and stopped her once more. "Hey," she spoke in a quiet, almost hushed voice, "are you sure you're okay?" 

She paused. Was she? 

"I'm not sure yet."

She practically power-walked to the front entrance, but paused when she saw Kanji at the shoe lockers, looking quite nervous.

"Kanji-kun?"

The boy snapped up with a yelp, and immediately scowled at his instinctive response. "Ah- Hey... Naoto."

"Is there something wrong?"

"Huh? Nah. I just-" He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "Just wanted to know if you're okay an'... stuff."

She raised a brow, but she couldn't help her lips quivering in amusement. "You have already messaged me earlier about this subject."

"S-So!? No problem in checking twice, right?" He studied the ground at his feet. "You looked pretty sick yesterday." 

"...right." An awkward silence soon passed between them, but Naoto was quite used to these whenever she spoke with Kanji. But she was still itching to do something, anything besides waiting around for this conversation to end. 

"How about we talk more while we walk?"

"Uh?" His face suddenly burst into flames, and he stuttered quite a bit. "You- you want to walk home together?"

Naoto couldn't help but smile a bit. "Why not? We go the same way, after all."

"Yeah. Guess so." He was considerably quiet after that, and Naoto took the lead. 

As they left the school gate, Naoto noticed the many dark clouds blooming overhead, and a drizzle of rain began falling down. 

"Dammit," Kanji muttered, "Didn't think it was gonna rain today."

It was only sprinkling, but it was bound to get annoying if they walked in this for too long. But she smiled as she reached a hand out to feel the droplets pattering onto her palm. She slowed her pace a bit to match Kanji's, who was slouching with furrowed eyebrows, glaring at the rain. 

Naoto sighed with relief. Her nerves weren't jumping around so much. Hearing the birds chirp amidst the rain comforted her. 

"'m sorry."

"Hm?" Naoto looked at Kanji in surprise. 

"Sorry for yellin' at ya yesterday." His words were quiet and mumbled together. He looked apologetic and... sincere. 

She smiled sympathetically. "I must apologize as well. I shouldn't have acted tough." 

"Nah, it's okay." He looked down at her, and his lips turned upwards. "I do the same thing."

When she returned his gaze, his eyes widened and snapped back to look ahead. After a hundred meters or so, he spoke again. "Dunno why, this kinda reminds me of the ski trip."

"The ski trip?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, we never really talk like... one-on-one... I guess. Only other time was at the trip, I think."

She chuckled. "Right. There wasn't much room for conversation amidst all of the tripping and falling."

"Hey, skiing is hard. Can't blame ya for that."

"Still, I felt guilty that you weren't able to enjoy it on your own. I'm sure you would have had fun skiing with Yukiko-senpai and Teddie." 

"Nah..." He held a hand to the back of his head. "I had fun teaching ya." 

Naoto smiled, but brought a hand to her chin in thought. "Come to think of it, where did you learn to ski?" 

"Uh. My dad taught me." He fell silent for a moment, and Naoto gazed at the tops of the trees while she waited for him to continue. He cleared his throat before continuing, "With both my parents working, we got a lot more income, 'specially since Inaba was more popular. He liked to take us to a lot of places, like the mountains." He huffed out a breath. "Plus, he liked skiing, so he taught me."

"I see." She took this moment to look up at Kanji. His eyes looked burdened, withholding both sadness and remembrance. His jaw was set, and he held his fists tight. But... His eyebrows stayed unfurrowed, and something in his eyes sparkled against the pain. 

"I'm glad that you taught me."

He smiled, wholeheartedly. "Wasn't a problem." 

As they walked toward the shopping district, Naoto realized that her heart was no longer beating out of her chest, and her nerves ceased its pounding. 

The road home suddenly felt too short for her.

"So... Yu-senpai, huh?"

"Ah, huh?"

"It's been pretty different without him, y'know? How's it been for you?"

She sighed. "You said it yourself. 'Pretty different.'" She glanced down at the pavement, watching the color darken with each splash of rain. "We haven't been in contact much since he left."

He gave a low hum. "He's prob'ly busy, bein' in the city and all. Don't think you should worry about it too much."

She bit her lip. "You're right."

The drops of rain grew fatter and fell down faster, to the point where it was showering down. 

"Dammit," Kanji muttered. He looked around for a bit in thought, before suddenly getting an idea. "Here." He took his jacket off of his shoulders and held it out for the two of them like a canopy. Naoto thankfully slid under the covering, and the two practically ran to the central shopping district under one jacket. It was an awkward feat, but the two have worked together whilst fighting in the TV multiple times in several situations. They eventually got the hang of it and stopped at Tatsumi Textiles. 

"Wait here," Kanji directed as she stood out of the rain's path. He quickly went inside holding his jacket, and came back out with an umbrella. "You can take this when you head home."

She held the umbrella in shock. "I appreciate it, but isn't this yours?"

"Don't worry about it. You can just bring it to me tomorrow, yeah?"

Naoto could feel her face soften, and she smiled, teeth and all. "Thank you, Kanji-kun." She opened the umbrella, and stepped out into the rain, which has slightly softened. "I'll see you tomorrow!" She waved, and made her way to the bus stop. 

"Y...Yeah! S-See you!"

____

When she arrived home, her clothes were absolutely soaked, and she was practically shivering. She shook the rain drops off of the umbrella as best as she could and headed straight for the bathroom. She groaned, slipping off the garments that clung to her, and got ready for a shower.

She felt... at ease. Her walk home with Kanji seems to have been the medicine that she was looking for. She made tea and sat in the corner of the couch, with her feet tucked beside her. It was still raining even as the sun went down, and the ambience filled her with tranquility. 

Kanji... Was really sweet to her, wasn't he? 

She swallowed the last sip of her tea, and held it on her lap. She didn't quite know what to do with this information. 

____

That night, as she slipped underneath her covers and checked her phone once more for any new notifications -there were none- she stared up at the ceiling and waited. 

Would another dream be awaiting her?

Would this version of Yu be in it?

If a dream were to occur, would she feel as though she got any sleep in the morning?

With all the thoughts stirring inside her head, Naoto gently closed her eyes. 

____

She awoke again, in the same area as before. She immediately patted down her body, and almost cried with relief that she was clothed. However, she still remained on guard, searching for anything that may present itself as a threat.

But as before, she could not see a single thing in the darkness. 

She relied on her feet to sense the area, and she took cautious steps, one after another. It was hard to breathe, with how cold she was. Her throat was beginning to burn.

It was hard to decipher where she was. A corridor, perhaps? But she has been walking around for a long time, and the floor and its path did not change whatsoever. Actually... This place feels very familiar.

She could not see or hear anything besides her own footsteps.

And yet Naoto's stomach plunged with fear. She was not alone.

She wanted to confront whatever it was that was coming for her, but something told her that they had the advantage here. She needed to run. 

With her feet almost slipping out from under her, she stumbled into a run, relying on her loose sense of where she was so she could escape. Whatever kind of presence this was, it was following right behind her. 

After what felt like a hundred meters, the cold air got to her, and her throat and chest screamed for some relief. Somehow, where ever she was was draining her energy much quicker than in the waking world. But Naoto knew that she could not stop, no matter what. The presence loomed larger, and inaudible whispers filled the atmosphere, continuously fading and coming close enough to nip at her ears. 

She was getting weary; she couldn't keep running like this.

"Ah!" Carelessly, Naoto fell out of her rhythm, and her feet tripped up behind each other and sent her tumbling down onto what felt like a hollow surface. It felt like a closely-knit wired fence, and it grazed her skin when she hit the surface. Desperate to keep going despite the pain, she gripped her fingers onto the metal, and struggled to pull herself up. However, all of her energy was gone. She had no choice but to slump down completely onto the floor, awaiting her doom.

The shadowy whispers curled around her ears, and ceased to fade away entirely. 

"...change...you want...alone..." Were the only lines that she could pick out. It wasn't until that she heard slow, approaching footsteps that she truly felt winded, and she scrambled onto her back and held herself up by her elbows. 

"Who's there!?" She huffed, looking around wildly. "I'm armed!" She hastily reached down to grab her pistol, and let out a small cry of pure despair when it could not be found on her body. 

The steps were getting closer, and she had nowhere to hide. No way to protect herself.

The presence approached her, and Naoto squinted her eyes to see that it was a dark figure, almost darker than her surroundings. She opened her mouth when a pair of hands suddenly gripped her shoulders, and heavily forced her to the floor. The motion made her bite down on her tongue, and Naoto could taste the blood that spilled from the wound. The figure continued to pin her to the ground, and she helplessly struggled against it, constantly flexing her muscles and trying to lift her limbs, but she knew that she didn't not stand a chance. 

The figure leaned down close enough to graze past her cheek, and gently pressed its lips to her ear. Naoto paled as it spoke, an echo of distorted voices concocted into one. 

"Welcome back."


End file.
